When The Rain Falls
by shinedown
Summary: Since the day they met, the rain had always been a symbol to him. A fresh start. Cleansing. Healing. But now...
1. Loss

It was raining that day too; the day they had first met. In fact, he could vaguely remember that day in detail; it was his most cherished memory of her. The day he had been broken from Kaze'aze's control and his life changed forever. He bore the sins he had committed upon his shoulders, turning that into his strength, hacking away at his past with every slash of his daggers, every slash of his scimitar, swipe of his claws and stroke of his Nodachi. Through years of diligence, he had become someone worthy of repaying her and the Grand Chase for bringing him back from his madness, for freeing him from the control of a demon who wanted to use him because of his unique ability.

And just like that, it was all over.

They were supposed to be happy; together forever! That's what they had promised in their vows to each other! They had promised to protect each other and to make sure that no matter what happened; they would be safe from harm.

He couldn't protect her.

The guilt and shame rose up in his chest, burning like a raging inferno and spreading throughout his body, weakening his limbs and his façade until the tiniest hint of a sobs escaped his lips. Her body lay limp before him, her blood staining his clothes and his hands as her lifeblood slowly seeped and pooled about her form. Clenching his teeth, he clutched at his hair and let out a strangled cry, his body shaking heavily from barely suppressed fury.

This wasn't what they had planned at all! They were supposed to have lived long lives together in Silver Cross! She was going to start a mage guild there and he would take over the dojo for his master, training the next Striker-to-be and raising their children together! They were supposed to be happy and smiling! She was supposed to greet him every morning with a kiss on the lips and a gentle hug, send him off with a warm meal in his stomach and more kisses, and then welcome him home with a running tackle, kissing him as they landed on the ground while their sons gagged and choked at the display of affection. And when they went to bed that night, they would talk about their days and then fall asleep, their pinkies locked into a pinky promise, a promise of yet another day together as a loving family.

But he couldn't protect her. He couldn't make that dream come true. She lay dead before him, bleeding from a wound in her chest, where a stray arrow had pierced her heart, killing her instantly. He had gone wild then, forgetting his training and his discipline; he was a man of righteous fury, and no one could stop him. Not even Aerknard, who had done his best to hold the boy off from attacking everything in his path. He had wounded the immortal greatly just to get by, and laid waste to an army of trained Dark Elves. Afterlife be damned, he vowed to chase their souls for all eternity and slaughter them each and every time he found them, again and again until they atoned for killing the one woman he had ever loved.

When his fury subsided, he had dropped his Nodachi, trudging back to where her body lay slumped against a wall. He carried her away slowly, tears running down his face. He wasn't sure when it had started raining, or even why. He didn't really care either. As if today couldn't get any worse, the rain brought back memories of her when she was alive. Memories of her smile, her laughter, her teasing and her gentleness as they lay together after having spent hours just holding each other.

And now, just like that, she was gone.

Perhaps it was fate. He had never been the type to believe in such things, but what else could it be? He was a freak—the unholy union of a human and a demon. He was a heretic, a devil-child, and many, many things. Maybe this was divine justice. Perhaps this was Ernasis' way of scorning him, by taking away that which he loved most. Or maybe Lisnar and Armenian wanted the girl to come to the afterlife. He didn't care. He wanted her back. If he had to trek through the fires of the Underworld or even Hell itself, so be it.

When he felt a hand on his shoulder, he knew that it was time. He still had to give her a proper burial. Looking up at the persons kneeling by his side, he could see the equally distraught Elesis doing her best to stay strong. "Come on, let's go. I think she'd be happier knowing we all got past this. She wouldn't want us to be upset."

"Yeah." Was all he could manage before he lifted the now dead girl in his arms. Even in death, she was so light. Her frame was so frail and tiny, yet she ate so many sweets it was a miracle she hadn't gained all that weight.

It hadn't been the best funeral procession, and not many people wanted to speak up and say much, except Rin who, though kind, had brought more tears to everyone's eyes with her words. Lass hadn't paid attention though. He just continued to stare at the peaceful girl's face, now amidst a sea of white flowers. Jin, Sieghart and Ryan slowly lowered her into the grave, and everyone looked at him, as if expecting last words to his dearly departed. "I…." He started, choking on his words. Everyone knew what he wanted to say. Even Rufus, who stood away from the group like Zero, Dio and ley. It wasn't that they weren't friends with the girl either, because her childish, adorable demeanor had affected everyone. They simply respected the others' space and let them be.

"I…." Year's worth of memories came flooding back. The kisses, the hugs, cuddling, promises…all of it came rushing back, bring with them, a soft, loving smile to the boy's face, as well as fresh tears. "I'll never forget you. I love you."

And just like that, as they covered the grave and placed the roughly carved gravestone, the lives of the Grand Chase were transformed forever.

~Years Later-

As he held the squirming child in his lap as she fought against his wriggling fingers, young Arme Sieghart burst into laughter as Lass tickled her. "I told you I'd get you!" He told the five year old, holding her tightly against him. Her giggling and squirming attracted the couple sitting not far away, which turned to watch them. Ronan and Elesis exchanged smiles, and Lass eventually let the girl fall into his lap and pout up at him.

"You're mean uncle Lass!" She exclaimed, crossing her arms over her chest. Lass chuckled and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead in apology, cuddling the girl to his chest. He apologized and promised to buy her sweets later, to which she beamed.

"Just not too much, you hear? She'll spoil her dinner!" Ronan interjected. Arme pouted again, and Lass nodded, though he planned on spoiling her anyway. He always had, and probably always would. Both parents knew this, and also knew that telling him not to spoil her would do little, so they simply sighed and shook their heads.

"Hey, let's go play with the others, okay Arme? I bet you're just _dying_ to see Aeron again!" Lass teased the girl. She blushed as she chased after the older man screaming for him to wait up. When she caught up to him and had tired herself out from beating her timy fists against him for his teasing, the two walked in relative silence.

In a way, her spirit had lived on, and that was all Lass cared about. Sure sometimes it felt he was projecting his lover onto the girl, but he knew well enough when to catch himself and it wasn't like he really meant to.

The name struck him as odd at first, and their asking permission to name her was equally as odd. He didn't care; it was just a name. But when the girl had been born, and grown up into the adorable, childish tomboy, it was apparent that she had been reborn, in a sense. He loved the girl, she was a niece you never could stay mad at.

As for Lass himself, he never remarried. He tried dating again, but his life never felt as fulfilled with another woman as it had when his Arme was alive. Everyone understood and came to accept his choice, and he seemed much happier now than he had been. It was tough moving past her death, but once he did, his old self had returned bit by bit, and soon, he became the fun-loving uncle the children loved.

They returned to Arme's grave from time to time, and Lass would leave trinkets for her that she would have liked, burying then into the ground with her so they wouldn't get stolen.

His wasn't the happiest ending of them all, but he was content, and no one could hope to take that from him.


	2. Sorrow That Never Fades

A/N: So…apparently some of you wanted another chapter for this fic explaining how Lass got over the pain of Arme's death, so I guess I might as well oblige, yes? I'm not sure if I'll add more chapters after this one, but I hope that you enjoy it!

'**Til next time**

**~shine**

When the Rain Falls

~Sorrow That Never Fades~

Many people often wondered what sort of demons the young Striker carried at his back ever since that day. While many people of silver Cross believed to be on good terms with the young boy, their constant well-wishing only drove him further from them now more than ever. He would sigh often, staring down at the engagement ring that sat upon his finger that once belonged to his now deceased fiancé. He had long since given up keeping his cool façade. He was tired of hiding his feelings and guarding himself from pain. What good did it do him? Instead, he showed exactly how he felt: broken beyond repair.

Many girls had come into his life with the intent to heal his damaged soul, but he was like a clam that wouldn't reveal its secrets, no matter how much one pried. His reluctance to open up drove many people away from him except his companions, and while they respected his wish to keep his thoughts to himself, some had thought that perhaps some time away on missions would help take his mind off of things for a while. Lass merely agreed, unwilling to fight against the people who only meant well for him.

Missions were a chore for the Striker. While everyone else had an easy enough time dispatching groups of enemies together or in pairs, Lass called upon his training and relied on no one but himself. Always heading off on his own and striking before the enemy noticed him; he had easily become a one-man army. However, the sense of loss he felt grew stronger still, fueling his anger and self-loathing. Soon, what was supposed to have been a covert operation quickly became a bloodbath, and simply running bandits and the like from villages turned into mindless slaughter. Soon, they stopped calling on him, and Lass felt glad. He had no desire to be where only memories of her plagued his mind and pulled tightly at his heart.

At times, he found it hard to breathe. The pressure he placed upon himself to do better, to become stronger would grow so great that he couldn't move or cry out. It was suffocating. He would have nightmares of that day. Horrid dreams of his failure to stop the arrow. If only he had known that she was behind him! If only he could have sensed that the arrow hadn't been intended for him, he would have gladly taken the shot! Every night the dream repeated itself, haunting him, mocking him for his failure, reminding him that the only one he had ever loved died because of his negligence.

Perhaps it was merely just depression as Ronan had suggested. Or maybe he was just being silly and fretting over things that were inevitable. Maybe she was supposed to die then, so he could grow stronger still and better protect the ones he loved in the future. No, there would be no one else after her. No one to fill the void that had been left by her absence. What had been left of his happiness lay dead and buried with her in her grave where flowers now grew. Her soul was in a better place, resting in the warm embrace of Armenian.

Lass took to spending his days in the Dojo, training the young ones silently, gauging their skills with keen eyes. While many would say he was being too hard on them, Lass knew the pain of loss all too well and felt he was doing only what he thought was right. He wanted to teach them much about protecting that which means most to them, but he was only one man and he could not teach them how to feel should someone they love fall on the battlefield. He still wasn't sure himself, though one thing was certain: he would never be able to forgive himself.

It took years before Lass was able to show signs of recovery, and longer still before he would be able to grieve at last. Believing himself to be out of tears, Lass would sometimes find himself crying and clutching his Nodachi tightly during practice, found his thoughts recreating that moment before her death, and his mind flitting through all the many possible things he could have done. Sometimes he would wake up from his nightmare and cry, clutching his heart with one hand tight enough to bruise and whimpering her name. He put her things away in storage save for her War Staff, which he hung above the bed along with his scimitar.

Days turned into weeks and weeks to months as Lass began to show signs of getting better. Ronan and Elesis approached him one day, their gazes never truly meeting his eyes, but he didn't mind. It had been a while since he had seen them last and he was grateful for their company. After making a joke about Elesis' stomach, which earned him a painful smack atop the head with the nearest object (which had been a ladle at the time, oddly enough), it was revealed that Elesis was indeed pregnant. As Lass congratulated them, he noticed finally that they didn't wear appreciative grins and neither did Ronan clap him on the back.

"C'mon, out with it. What's with the sour looks?" Lass had asked. Neither of them spoke for a time, and Lass began to grow suspicious that he had been tricked and they felt bad. As he opened his mouth to say something, Ronan spoke up.

"We…believe that the child may share a birthday with…with Arme—"

"Yeah? That's pretty neat." Lass spoke indifferently. He got up to fetch tea cups for them and poured a glass for each of them. When he got back, it was Ele's turn to speak up.

"We thought of naming her after Arme." Stunned, Lass cast his eyes down at his own cup and thought on it for a while. It was just a name, after all, so it was no big deal. Why did they have to come to him? Were they asking for his permission or something? "L-look, if that's not okay then just—"

"It's a good name. Go for it." Lass spoke, smiling softly. Although he did his best to hide it, he was sort of glad that they had come to him. Even though the pain of her loss still ached in his heart, he had more or less moved past it, and knowing that the others still thought of her too helped a great deal. Even her best friend wanted to name her first-born child after her. As the couple stared at each other, Lass took his leave of them and went to visit Arme's grave.

Lass sighed as he finished cleaning the gravestone, wiping his brow of sweat and throwing the dirty rag over his shoulder. He smiled at his work. It had been a long time since he had come here, and he was appalled to see what years of neglect had done to her gravesite. Vines and weeds grew in abundance, and moss covered much of the gravestone. Gritting his teeth at his thoughtlessness, Lass set to work, chatting idly all the while. Arme had loved talking with him, after all. Why should he stop now that she was gone? Perhaps she was listening to him from her place on high. Even if she couldn't respond, maybe she was just as restless as he and just wanted to hear his voice? Who was he to deny her even that?

Lass hadn't noticed that the others had come by to visit until he felt that something was amiss. Turning to face the group, he saw tears in many of their faces and Rin was the first to embrace him. Next came Zero, then Elesis, Lire, Ryan Ronan, Amy who was crying like a four year old, and finally Jin. He was glad that they had come. "Everyone's here to see you," He said, turning back to the grave. "We're always thinking about you."

"Yeah, so don't get too lonely, you dork." Elesis said with a shaky voice. Ronan smiled but said nothing. He nudged Elesis and she glared at him for a moment before shaking her head and taking a deep breath to still her nerves. "We, uh…we decided to name our child, if it's a girl, after you. We're still trying to decide on boy names though. But I hope you don't mind if we borrow your name."

Soon after everyone left except for Lass, who had noticed that it was going to rain soon. He wanted to stay behind a little longer, and began to meditate beside the grave. Once the rain came, he smiled. "It's all right to cry." He said softly. "I'll be right here, by your side. I promise."


End file.
